Pine Island Celebration of the Mangoes Huge Success.

Submitted by Assoc. Editor on Mon, 08/01/2016 - 10:49am

This year’s 2016 event started off with the singing of the National Anthem by "Trailer Park Barbie." Then the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the colors being presented by Greater Pine Island Boy Scouts Troop 20.

The purpose of this annual event is to showcase all that Pine Island has to offer and to promote island growers and businesses.

"A week ago we only had less than 60 vendors, but with the help of GPICC Board member Pat Burman, owner of Ad&PrintCraft, Jennifer Jennings said “we worked many long hours for the last week before the event and we were able to bring in 114 different kinds of vendors this year.”

Joe Waters from Tampa entered the adult Pie Eating contest, “Well I didn’t win but it was fun. I came with 6 of my friends to spend the day and eat mangos. It has been a blast. The people running the event are so helpful and professional. We learned a lot about mangos and have two full bags of fresh Pine Island mangos to take home. We have already made plans to attend next years event.”

“This year’s MangoMania was the best in a decade. Partly clear skies with a little rain around 2:00, but it didn't stop the people from coming and having a great time and we had an over whelming supply of Pine Island Mangos this year.”

The air was full of the smells of cooking shrimp taco’s, crab cakes, pulled pork, smoked sausage BBQ Chicken, Smoked Goat meat and so much more. Returning this year was homemade fudge from CW Fudge Factory in Matlacha, and freshly cut coconuts full of coconut milk from J.M.C. Landscaping. Along with the coconuts were freshly cut pineapples, filled to the top with pineapple juice.

The event offered a huge variety of foods, drinks, entertainment, contests and the Free Tasting table, with a wide range of different Pine Island Mangos which you don’t get anywhere else.

JoAnn Smith from Naples said, “We brought our entire family plus 8 of our closest friends to this years MangoMania. We saw the article in our local paper and had nothing else that sounded like this much fun, so we all got into a van and car and headed to Pine Island. We are happy to say the event delivered what they advertised, which isn’t always the case when you plan a trip. We have already decided to attend next years event. We were also told about an event on in January “SW Florida ClamJam & Seafood Festival” we will all be attending that two day event also. What a great bunch of people.”

MangoMania had some great mango drinks, Budweiser’s Special mixed Mango Beer, regular draft and new to this years event was different Craft beers and special mixture of adult Mango drinks and their new Tito’s Lemonade, Tito’s is also one of the events major sponsors.

Attendees were greeted by this years Mango Queen Summer Dooley and MangoMania mascot Matt Mango. Queen Summer ran all the kid’s contests and games, such as the hat decorating contest and the hat parade, followed by the generation gap relay, Mango Head contest, (where you decorate a mango), Mango juggling, Mango Corn Hole and the ever popular and the Hula Hoop contest.
Dooley was a busy Queen and loved working with the kids.

Largest Mango Contests:
First Place: Luke Long
Second Place: Summer Dooley
Third Place: Ronda Dooley

The word went out that signups started for the first Pie Eating Contest of the day to be held at the main stage on Saturday afternoon. Jennings said, “we had so many entries, we were forced to have two different categories, one for the kid’s and one for the adults. The pie eating contest has gotten so popular everyone wants to be a part of it.” Sunday, July 17th there was 8 adult signed up for the pie eating contest. It’s a blast for all who participate and also for those who look on.

After a little music and food it was time to do some shopping with the local vendors that filled the park: Traders Hitching Post with her unique Native American jewelry, turquoise and silver bracelets all hand crafted. Great Licks Ice Cream with his special recipe of Mango Ice Cream, Paradise Garden with fresh jams and jellies, Olde Fish House Marina, with shrimp taco’s and crab cakes, Jan’s Produce with fresh veggies and J.M.C Landscaping with fresh off the tree coconut drinks and mango trees, palms and yard plants, CW Fudge Factory with homemade fudge and Mango Popcorn and Pine Island Spice who sold out of their BBQ sauce. This is just a few of the vendors who participated in this years MangoMania 2016.

"MangoMania went very well," Jennings said. "Everyone worked very hard to make this event the most successful one in years. In spite of the heat and a little rain it was a beautiful weekend. Most people said it was a lot of fun. Plans are already in the works for 2017, the 21th Annual MangoMania Tropical Fruit Festival.”

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